Variety (December 1953)

w-WadaT, a3, 19S8 THE YEAR OF THE PATENTS inNY. Now that the FCC has greenlighted color TV, the “housing” ration in New York is expected tp get some speedy consideration; After months of searching, GBS-TV resolved its immediate color Ct, dio prohjem last week by taking a longterm lease on the RKO nut St Theatre on upper Broadway, N, Y., and a crew is already at work on installations, refurbishings, etc., to have it in readir ?iess by March 1# Buf with the impending stepped-up color programming activity, neither CBS- RKO theatre acquisition nor NBC-TV’s Colonial (also in the vicinity of the 81st St. property) will he able to cope with the situation for long. Even in terms of monochrome pro- gramming, the studio shortage becomes increasing acute in New York for both the major networks, and particularly In the case of NBC, which is compelled to reactivate the old Warner studios in Brooklyn Which the network acquired some time back but which have been lying dormant. Ji addition, NBC is trying to persuade shows to shift to the' Burbank studios on the Coast in a bid to alleviate the cramped conditions in Manhattan. All of which Will likely call for some early bueprinting of plans looking toward the inevitable construction of TV Centres in Gotham for both, NBC and CBS. (There’s little indication, at the moment that the rival webs will collaborate on a one-big Centre project, preferring yathef to go their individual ways.) A forthcoming announcement hyf Ford Motor Co. that it is jumping aboard the network radio program- ming bandwagon may provide the long-sought spark toward a revital- l 7 atiop of Jhe medium in '54, with an unprecedented outpouring of Detroit coin shaping up as the au- tomotive industry “discovers” net- work radio. For the moment Ford is sitting tight on the announcement, with time, program aind network facili- ties being kept under wraps; but it’s understood the buy will be a major one and the first of a series of network program acquisitions with other auto companies falling in line. Years back Ford was a heavy user of network radio, with Henry Ford personally taking an active interest in the musical-type shows that were sponsored by the com- pany. The other companies, for the most part, were in-and^outers, and in the more recent TV era practically all the auto makers de- serted AM as more and more coin was channelled into video program- ming. .• . However, the "‘radio story”—of lower-cost programming and in- creased sale of sets : —appears to have made a dent in the Detroit precincts,, with result, that not only Ford but other companies as well are in the process of rediscovering the medium in '54 as a means of coping With the more competitive situation among automotivCs. Fact that Kraft is buying Edgar Bergen for an expanded 60-minute weekly show next season is also seen indicative of major sponsors “finding” radio all over again. Robert Saudek (Director of Radio-TV Workshop; ■ — -Ford, fotmdation) hoc on interetlinq dii»«rtafion on Television’s BeanbaU . * * * another editorial feature in tho 48th Anniversary Number of Variety DUE SOON Tied up with the post-prexy. . T D® a ^ er era ” developments at NBC last week was the puUing of Samuel Fuller from his exec pro- Jlucer s post with the Colgate Comedy Hour,” effective Feb. 1 and installing him as national TV Piogram director Under Tom Mc- vvm 4 ;- Reporting to Fuller in turn .1 be Michael Dann, manager of leipprograinmihg, and Roy Pass- isti^tiorv nagCr °* program admin- D v n . l . i , m e ’ speculation centres eHv ii° 11 succeed Fuller on “Com- Bair>i Houi ' with Merritt (Pete) Bainum understood first in line 101 the post; md-ST ! s a *: Wea v er man." They star fn,. on the rotating l m K at u for Colgate "and other With ' vblcb Provided performers Ping” into°TV w ent ‘ Way 6i “ slip * tile caide U P through duoer riif f tatlonH spares as pro- Si e ? 01 ^i- has worlced at ad grams and 1 andl V ng bi 8 lea g ue Pro- gate slfmv v ' f ' a . s , ta PPed for the Col- .'cars ln about on ABC-TV, in its most drastic pro- gramming revision since its merger with United Paramount Theatres last February, swung the axe down on four shows this week, including its two daytime segments. At the same time, the network announced that Don McNeill’s “Breakfast Club” would begin simulcasting shortly after Feb. 1 and that a morning block would be built around the longtime radio prop- erty. Shows getting the axe are the two daytimers, “Turn to a Friend” and “The Em Westmore Show,” and the two sustainers filling the Wednesday night 9-10 niche. Jean Carroll’s “Take It From Me” situ- ation comedy and “The Vaudeville Show,” which started only two weeks ago. Replacements aren’t (Continued on page 34) By GEORGE ROSEN . The FCQ’$ okay. ion.. compatible color television standards throws into focus the peculiarly sensitive situation shaping up on the patent front, notably in terms of tint TV. For the. Radio Corp. of America; ’54 could well be the “year of de- cision,” for at stake are millions of dollars accruing to RCA annually from' its patent licensing business (the millions in revenue that RCA in the past has been able to pour Into constant research and devel- opment in color television and other electronic facets). As an indication of the extent of the “patent upheaval” in the off- ing, it’s been learned that General Electric is currently in the process of negotiating a deal with CBS for adoption of the. Columbia color camera system, thus marking the major defection in :the GE- RCA long-standing association and creating a situation where GE would be riding in two camps— with RCA on all its past patent commitments and with Columbia on color cameras. . Significant in the projected deal is the bearing it will have on the powerful RCA patent licensing biz, -rathefr-than-the GE a cceptance, as such, of the CBS sjrstera. The royalty rate of “less than of the manufacturers’ selling price of apparatus using RCA in- ventions has been the means by which RCA has been pouring its millions into research and devel- opment work, {More than $50,- 000,000 alone went into research and' development of black-and- white TV before RCA made a dime profit; by the end of ’54 RCA will have spent upwards of $30,000,000 in developing-researching color IT.) Sarnoff to Analysts Gfy along with Westinghouse, is currently battling with RCA in the courts and refusing to accept RCA’s so - called sub - licensing rights under their patents which expire Dec. 31, ’54. The all-impor- tant, decision is now pending be- fore the District Court in Dela- ware. What the decision will be is anybody’s guess, but RCA board chairman David Sarnoff, in an ad- dress earlier this month before the New York Society of Security Ana- lysts, made it clear that “no matter what the outcome of the case may be. no question has been raised as to the fact that both GE and West- inghouse are required to continue to pay RCA, after Dec. 31. ’54, royalties on ; all radio, television and other electronic patents in Our field which they use and which were developed by GE, Westing- house, the Telephone Co. or RCA before Dec. 31, ’54.” Sarnoff shared the opinion of RCA-experts that from here on in the big noise, in areas for licens- ing, is color television and tran- sistors, while the GE and Westing- house inventions, he noted, have (Continued on page 36) Veteran Newscaster-Reporter tall* How To Make Wince- Meat Out of a TV News Show . .♦ * *: ■ an amusieq •ditarial feature in the 48th Anniversary Number ■ Of u&RmfY DUE SOON Frank White, who bow»ed out as prexy of NBC \ast summer, has j joined MeCann-Erickson agency ]and becomes chairman of the board ] of the International Division, a I wholly-owried subsidiary of agency- (Parent company, is topped by H. K; McCann as board chairman; Marion Harper Jr., as president and Emerson Foote as executive veepee. At the same time McC-E also announced appointment of George Giese as prexy of the In- ternational Division. Giese was formerly veepee and director of the international setup. . As board chairman. White will be in command of 17 offices overseas —in Europe and Latin America— and will do extensive travelling. Immediate speculation was whether the White move-in will in- vite a switch of the $3,500,000 j RCA account to MeCann-Erickson. 4 RCA is yanking the biz from J. Walter Thompson.) However, with McC-E already involved . in the lucrative Westinghouse bill- ings and Columbia Records, it In- volves conflicts that automatically rule out any acquisition of the RCA biz. Otto Harbach, dean of American musical - playwrights, will be the guest on “The Railroad Hour” on next Monday (28). A special cut- in has been arranged from Har- bach’s living-room in New York. Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Jerome have prepared a salute to Harbach. Program features Gor- don MacRae <and Dorothy Kirsten in a “Review of the Year.” : - Harbach, in turn, salutes the greats of the musical theatre he has .worked with': Rudolf Friml, Sigmund Romberg, Jerome Kern, -and Vincent. Youmans. “Railroad Hour,” in its 4 sixth year, has consistently been in the top-10 in rating, the first time in the history of radio that a rnusi- cal-show hit the niagic circle. ‘OVERLOADED’ EXITS TV ‘COMEBACK’ George Jessel has bowed Out as emcee of ABC-TV’s “Comeback” with Robert Alda filling in for a couple of weeks before Arlene Francis moves in as permanent cohferenCier. Bob Weitman. ABC talcnt-prograrns veep, said the fact that Jessel’s Overloaded with his own TV’er plus a radio show is responsible for the move. “Comeback,” which has reverted to single sponsorship by Sealy Mattress on an every-week basis (Ekco Products was in as alternate- week sponsor under a 13-week saturation deal), is also undergoing a format change under the Lou Cowan office aegis. Stress will be jess on people currently trying a comeback and more on celebrities who’ve already done so. In line with that, George Shearing is slated as guest Friday (25). Martin Gabel, Miss Francis’ hus- band. has taken over as producer of the show. ELMER DAVIS BACK, SET FOR AM&TV Elmer Davis, who a couple of months ago quit his longtime radio show on ABC because of ill health, is returning to the air on a once- weekly basis and is also making his debut as a regular television commentator. He’s slated to start a Sunday at 1 p. jn. quarter-hour TV commentary on Jan, 17, with radio starting on Jan. 3 in the Sun- day night 10; 15 slot. Radio version will be a tape Of the TV show, but because the radio segment starts earlier, the first two shows will be original with AM. Davis is reportedly on the mend, but he’s still not well enough to return to a flve-a-wcek sked. ABC-TV’S projected Sammy Dav- is Jr.-Will Mastin Trio musical comedy show, kinnie of which has already been completed but is not. yet being shown, is set to roll with an all-Negro cast, the first live net- work TVer of its kind. Web has been showing the kin- nie to its sales force, but it hasn’t put it on' the agency rounds yet. Ashmead Scott produced and di- rected the kinnie; Sid Kuller i scripted. Year-end rush of {clients into network radio with sponsorship deals starting in January has given CBS something to shout about— an unexpected $2,000,000 billings windfall; Just at a time when CBS was bemoaning its fate in the Chesebrough fadeout from his longtime bankrolling of “Dr, Chris- ian” and Lucky Strike’s pullout: on the Horace Heidt show’, the onrush of new' biz not only offsets the casualties but has given the net- work new heart in appraising the future. Likewise, coupled with the revelation that Ford is making a major nighttime entity into radio (see separate story J with likelihood of other auto companies following suit, the ’54 network radio picture, and particularly as far as CBS i* concerned, takes on a brighter hue. Perhaps the most unique aspect of the new CBS biz is the manner in which the clients.are jumping on the Robert Q. Lewis bandwag- on. Even thou gh, his new S aturday morning radio "entry"3oesrTt pfeem until Jan. 2. CBS last week brought in its fourth sponsor for the hour (tl-to-noon i show when VanCamp negotiated a deal with the web,. Previously CBS had signed up PinesoL Mutual of Omaha, and Nehi. Talent lineup for the show was also finalized last week.* with Jan Arden ^recent “Talent Scouts” winner*, the Cbordettes. Sally Sweetland, Earl Wrightson and Ray Block’s brch as the major com- ponents. Saturday entry' is. Of course, in addition to Lewis’ afternoon cross- the-board radio show. He Also starts an afternoon five-times-a- week TV show' in January, with practically the same talent lineup prevailing as on his Saturday stanza. Decision of CBS to mow the “Godfrey Digest" radio show from Sunda 3 ' afternoon to Friday nights 8:30-9:30 has also , proven a spon- sorship bonanza for the network, with 45 minutes Of the show' al- ready sold. Ow'ens-Coming, which sponsored “Digest" until a month ago. has decided to returq. taking Over the 8:30-9 segment. In addi- tion. Bristol-Myers is; bujlng 9- 9:15. leaving a quarter-hour avail* ability. “Stage Struck" is currontly occupying the Friday hour slot, but is being shifted to Sunday after- noons 5-6 in. the hopes of inviting a bigger audience. In addition to sponsoring Lewis, YanCamp has also bought 11 Edgar Bergen stanzas as alternate spon- sor with Consolidated Cosmetics. * The lucrative $3,500,000 Radio Corp. of America billings are being thrown on the Open market, with a mad scramble among agencies al- ready under W’ay, as result of RCA serving notice on J. Walter Thomp- son agency that it is yanking its biz. The move is not unexpected since it’s known that RCA has been unhappy with the JWT association for some time. RCA notice to Thompson's proxy Stanley Resor is six months in advance, and it’s not anticipated that the billings will actually sw’itch to another agency until some time in mid^’54. JWT handles all the RCA radidrTV biz, as ..well as RCA Victor; (White goods, such as airconditioners, stoves, etc.) are handled by A1 Paul Lefton agency. Actually RCA is so set up. ad- ministrative-wise, that it is in a position to handle its own accounts. That goes for advertising, merchan- dising, exploitation, etc.